De Maiziere urges Athens to implement Dublin rules

Germany Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere has repeated his call for Greece to implement the so-called Dublin regulations, which state that migrants must seek asylum in the European Union member-state they first arrived in.

Due to deficiencies in Greece’s asylum processing system and the large number of migrants and refugees arriving in the country, Berlin has suspended deportations back to Greece since 2011.

“The EU has since then provided financial and other support for Greek efforts, and given a lot of money to improve these conditions,” de Maiziere said.

“That is why I would like to see the Dublin Convention implemented again,” he said.

The German minister said Berlin recognized the burden shouldered by Greece in recent years.

“But we still need a strategy to restore the legal situation,” he said, adding that the issue would be discussed at a meeting of interior ministers in October.